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Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Time Babe Ruth Fought a Wall and Lost: The Baseball Historian's Notes for the Week of November 16, 2014

Baseball has always stood strong when one of its own passes
away. This was proven during the untimely death of St. Louis Cardinals
outfielder Oscar Tavarez during the World Series last month. Tavarez and his
girlfriend were killed in a horrific car accident in his homeland of the
Dominican Republic. However, the most
recent update is that the former top prospect was severely intoxicated at
the time of the crash.

While the loss of these two young people will rightfully be
continued to be mourned for some time to come, perhaps it will not be in vain.
The best possible outcome of this tragedy is using it as a springboard to
educate both professional ballplayers and fans alike on the dangers of operating
vehicles while impaired. It looks like the Cardinals are already on this path.
If this can prevent even one person in the future from making the same mistake some
good will come out of all this.

Now, on to the notes for the week…

*Graham Womack over at Baseball
Past and Present has done it again. The talented writer and researcher
published his list
of the 25-most important figures in baseball history. Over 250 voters participated
in the project and made their picks from among the titans of the game, both
current and those from the past. Some selections and placements may surprise
you, while others may not. One spoiler I will give you is that Ned
Yost did not make the list; at least not this year.

*Boston Red Sox television announcers Jerry Remy and Don
Orsillo have been a dynamic duo for a number of years. Their camaraderie not
only provides for excellent game narrative but also the likelihood of hijinks
in the booth. This clip
from a 2014 game against the Chicago Cubs caught the unusual situation of Remy
losing a tooth during the contest, and he and his partner’s ensuing
conversation regarding what he should do about it. Hint; it involved a bit of
do-it-yourself dentistry.

*Another baseball passing to report in former Oakland
Athletics’ first baseman Kelvin Moore,
according to the Idaho Statesman. The 57-year-old
played parts of three seasons for Oakland from 1981-83, appearing in a total of
76 regular season games. He hit a combined .223 with eight home runs and 25
RBIs, and chipped in two singles in 16 at-bats during the 1981 playoffs. He was
much more successful as a minor leaguer during his career, with a .288 batting
average and 132 home runs in eight years. He leaves behind a wife and three
children.

*Getting to sit next to an athlete during a flight is
something many fans talk about but rarely experience. The Washington Times’ Todd Dybas had
that rare opportunity when he had Los Angeles Dodgers legendary speedster Maury
Wills as a seatmate on a trip to Phoenix. The chance encounter led to a
broad discussion of his career and battle with alcoholism among other things.

Wills, who had 586 career stolen bases, including leading
the National League in the category six consecutive seasons from 1960-65 is one
of the more underappreciated stars from a bygone era. Now 82, reading some of
his reflections is an interesting reminder about his place in the history of
the game.

*Slugging Hall-of-Famer Babe Ruth
was known for slamming balls over outfield walls. Unfortunately, there was also
at least one time where he tried to go through a wall himself. This photograph shows an unconscious
Bambino after a collision while chasing a fly ball against the Washington
Senators in a game that occurred on July
5, 1924 while he was with the New York Yankees. In a nod to a different
time, Ruth actually stayed in the game,
going 3-for-3. He even played later that day in the second game of a
double-header, and played in 153 of 154 regular season games on the year,
leading the league with a .378 batting average and 46 homers.

*Major League Baseball was recently on tour
in Japan, parading a team of decidedly average players abroad. This is far from
a new practice, as squads have been playing exhibition games in the Land of the
Rising Sun for the better part of a century. A major difference is that those
teams used to be comprised of many All-Star and Hall-of-Fame caliber players.
This collection of clips
contains some of the home movies of Hall-of-Fame slugger Jimmie Foxx,
who was part of the 1934 tour. An excellent book on that subject is Robert
Fitts’ Banzai Babe Ruth, which
goes into great detail about that year’s 18-game tilt and the experiences of
the star-studded roster (including Foxx, Ruth, Lou Gehrig
and Connie
Mack among others).

*Former player and manager Alvin Dark
has passed
away at the age of 92. Primarily a shortstop, he had a 14-year playing
career with five teams from 1946-1960, with his best years coming with the New
York Giants. He compiled career marks of a .289 batting average, 126 home runs
and 757 RBIs—star numbers for a player at his position at the time. He also
made three All-Star teams and played in three World Series (his 1954 Giants
squad winning his only ring as a player). After hitting .322 with the Boston
Braves in 1948, he was named the National League’s Rookie of the Year.

Following his playing days, Dark skippered for 13 seasons with
five different teams. He had a career record of 994-954 and won the 1962
pennant with the San Francisco Giants and the 1974 World Series with the
Oakland Athletics.*Finally, yet another reminder of how much the game has
changed over the years. This clip of Kansas City Royals’
Hal McRae
taking out the Yankees’ Willie
Randolph to break up a double play in Game 2 of the 1977 ALCS is something
you would never see today. Calling McRae’s play a hard slide would be like
categorizing a Bazooka as a water pistol. More reminiscent of something that
might be seen in the WWE, this shows just how far baseball has come in the past
generation when it comes to rough levels of play and decreasing aggressive play.